Os du Randt does not look like your typical politician but the giant Springbok prop was all diplomacy ahead of Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks.
The man who has single-handedly caused the New Zealand selectors to alter their settled front-row combination refuses to compare Greg Somerville with the All Blacks propping team-mate he has replaced, Carl Hayman.
”I’ve played against both of them in the Super 12 and I rate them really high. They’re two different kinds of scrummagers so it will be interesting to see what happens,” was the closest du Randt came to any comment of note about his opponents.
It continues the shadowy talk that has surrounded the front row duel this week. All Blacks coach Graham Henry refused to divulge any technical reasons for introducing 35-Test veteran Somerville on the tighthead side, leaving observers to guess it is due to his shorter stature.
”Height plays a role, they obviously opted for a shorter front row,” was all du Randt would offer.
The senior statesman of the Springbok squad, 31-year-old du Randt has played nine Tests against the All Blacks, nearly twice as many as any current team-mate.
Yet this is his first appearance against New Zealand since the third/fourth playoff at the 1999 World Cup, capping a remarkable return from international rugby
isolation.
Jacobus Petrus du Randt, better known as Os, retired after the 2000 season. Injured and his hunger gone, he bought a 400ha farm on South Africa’s highveld.
”Initially when I saw anything going on rugby-wise on the television I’d change the channel,” he said.
”I was mentally tired, I’d been playing since I was 21 years old at provincial level.”
A hankering to lace the boots returned in 2002 and he had a full season with his Free State province last year.
New South African coach Jake White approached him at the start of this year’s Super 12, outlining his desire to inject some experience back into the Springboks’ playing ranks.
”I gave him an ultimatum saying that if he could get to the fitness levels we expected, I could give him another chance,” White said.
”The rest is history. You look at the amount of weight he’s lost, what condition he’s in and what sort of impact he gives to the team, not only on the field but off the field.
”He’s enjoying it again and that’s very important for us. He’s one guy who has added value and that’s why I went to see him.”
White described du Randt as the greatest loosehead prop produced in South Africa, no small claim considering the great front rowers of their past.
Du Randt has been a standout figure in their four-Test unbeaten start to 2004, scrummaging as well as ever and showing a mobility that showcases his weight loss of recent months.
As a 22-year-old he was a key figure in the Springboks’ World Cup triumph of 1995 but had beaten the All Blacks only once more since the final of that tournament and felt it could be as soon as this weekend that they ended their seven-Test losing streak against New Zealand.
”We must keep on going with what we’ve been doing these last few games,” he said.
”Work hard on our set pieces, get that right and just play our game plan, we can’t do anything more than that.” – Sapa-NZPA